The room went silent after Emily's arrival. I didn't want to speak about anything private in front of the madwoman and her smile freaked me out so much that I just sat in my seat and patiently waited for the next person to enter so we can have a conversation about the work instead of private stuff.
Eventually after what felt like hours of gruelling silence someone did appear. Two people in fact, both appearing at the same time. Which suggests to me that they know each other. One of them walked in front and sauntered in with the walk of a gangsta from those old movies.
The other carried a massive weapon on her back and silently followed the other in expressionlessly. Well aren't they a pair. Was the first thought that came to my mind seeing the way they acted. The one at the front had an arrogant smile and her walk screamed that she was queen of the room while the one behind her was silent and acted almost like a bodyguard.
They couldn't be any more different from each other if they tried. "Heya. So which of you losers is Mainframe" Bellowed the arrogant lady in the front. Her smile was very obviously throwing daggers at anyone she looked at. She was so raring for a fight in fact that I almost instinctively put my hand on my weapon.
Seeing Tommy tense up but not reach for his I knew that while she was hostile she wasn't murderous and we could theoretically talk things out. Her gear was very clearly worn but also high tier equipment. She had a leather jacket and a red t-shirt underneath. Her pants were also leather and a smooth black reflective type at that.
Both the pants and jacket had some rips here and there where the cloth insides were showing but it looked more like a fashion statement than any sort of failure on her part. The most noticeable part of her apparel however was her belt. Filled to the brim with tools of different kinds. Grenades, guns, knives If the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking about it is 'that's dangerous' then she probably had it on her belt.
Her hair was a bob cut and a brownish black from root to tip. Her face honestly screamed teenager and criminal both at once and it wasn't hard to mix the two into the being in front of me. The arrogant smile on her face was so reminiscent of a teenage punk it was actually refreshing.
Especially since the rest of her seemed a little more aged. Her hands were starting to show the signs of age as were the wrists showing from her slightly too short leather sleeves. Her pants covered all the way to her feet but presumably she put a lot of work into her face and hid everything else.
"Must you pick a fight with everyone right off the bat?" Asked the other woman. Her face was expressionless. She seemed just as young as her companion but the maturity in her face was one of mind rather than body. Her hands unlike her friend's weren't showing signs of age but hard work. They were calloused and her fingernails were still dirty.
The big weapon on her back by the way was a massive rifle. A sniper rifle to be exact. The barrel was so large that it towered over even the person carrying it. Obviously it wasn't her only tool. Since she also had a belt like her companion. Her belt however was just filled with food, a knife and a few other essential materials for a mercenary. She seemed far more ordinary.
Her clothes only affirmed this sentiment. Her T-shirt was buttoned up to perfection and a perfectly normal white. Her assets even jutted out straining only slightly against the buttons containing them. Likely not a choice she made but a consequence as they were fairly large. Over that shirt was a jacket. Unlike her friend's however her jacket was made with cloth.
It was a boring blue/green colour and while it could be called a hoodie since it did in fact possess a hood she appeared not to use the hood or the zipper so her 'hoodie' was open at the front and showing off her white T-shirt.
Looking down revealed a simple pair of shorts and tights nothing particularly fancy. The shorts were the same blue/green colour as the hoodie. The tights were just a normal slightly transparent black without any patterns. Like the jacket next to her however her tights had some holes in them from wear and tear.
"Well aren't you just wonderfully pleasant company?" Emily greeted them when she noticed the two walk in. She was smiling but it once again sent a chill down my spine. The non-arrogant one appeared to notice as well and took a step back. Whether the other noticed and just didn't care or didn't notice at all was yet to be determined but she looked straight into Emily's eyes and greeted her with a smile.
"Yeah we're so wonderfully pleasant when we've been threatened into things. Honestly have all your hostages instantly developed Stockholm syndrome or something?" The arrogant woman sneered at Emily showing defiance from the very start.
What she said peaked my interest though so I asked about it. "You two were threatened into this? Oh and I'm Amelie this is Tommy." I quickly realized none of us have introduced ourselves and while we could continue the mission without knowing everyone's names. Since we weren't given code names we can assume that this client doesn't mind real names.
Tommy only briefly acknowledged my statement while sizing up our new teammates. Though he also seemed interested in the answer to my question. "You weren't?! Tsk what a pain in the ass. Here I thought I could start a rebellion if things went well enough. I'm Delilah this is Dahlia. Just call us DeDe and if you want us separately I'm Del that's Dal got it!" She ordered us arrogantly as though that was just common sense before walking up to the seats and picking out a normal chair and sitting at it.
Her partner Dahlia I believe she said her name was, sat down next to her without complaint. She appeared to be looking at us apologetically but otherwise just let the comments go without butting in. So we know who's in charge of these partners in crime.
"We came here on promise of revenge for a friend of ours. As far as I know you're the only ones who've been threatened into this arrangement." I reply to her little order with a bit of spite. Sure I'm not as mad about being ordered around as Sophie but there are still some things that make a bad first impression and this is definitely one of them.
"Revenge huh? That go for all of you?" She asked looking at Emily and Tommy who both nodded with mysterious smiles. That got a little scoff out of Delilah but she made no further indication to chastise them for it and continued her own introduction.
"Well I suppose I got a reward of my own as well but threats come first and I'm pretty sure the reward was for my partner here more than me. We're big scary criminals you see. So if we were reported to the authorities…" She makes a cutting throat gesture across her neck before continuing.
"On the other hand if we complete a 'little task' for this Mainframe character then we get brand new identities to do with as we please. So long as we don't commit any crimes we could start over and if we do go back to a life of crime it'd be pretty convenient to have a clean ID for when jobs hit the fan."
She explains this as though she's completely uninterested but isn't that basically giving them a new life? They get to escape the government's thumb and better yet they get to do so in presumably whatever way they choose. Sure if they fail or die on the job they don't get any of that but I figure if Mainframe wanted them dead on the job she could've promised them a reward Delilah wanted more.
Apparently she had the same thoughts as me because she grimly smiles and adds "At least the client this time doesn't want us dead" It's like she's a mind reader or something. Either way they've clearly been given the carrot and the stick strategy and Mainframe IS essentially forcing them into it. Unlike the rest of us who she gave a choice to.
Maybe she just doesn't like criminals or something. Too much of a sense of justice could be a problem. Especially in this line of work where killing people is an everyday occurrence and not doing so could put our lives in danger.
I guess I'll just have to worry about that later though. I think to myself as I watch Delilah angrily glare at everyone from her chair and Dahlia sitting there calmly as though she was meditating. Here I thought Emily was bad. At least she hides her hostility from most people. Delilah's just nuts. How am I going to work with these people?
My question goes unanswered for the next several dozens of minutes as once again after the new arrival everyone splits off into their own separate groups. I am Tommy chat quietly in the corner while Emily stays standing near the holo-table with that creepy smile and Dede just sit and talk amongst themselves though we can actually hear what they're talking about because Delilah is so loud.
Most of it is complaints about us and whatnot but occasionally she'll throw in a bit of nostalgia or something. Like 'you remember that job' or 'this totally reminds me of that time when'. Every time she would bring up their past escapades Dahlia would grimace and look around. Yeah everyone in the room started to pity the girl after that.
Even Emily surprisingly. Does the sadist secretly have a heart of gold? Not a chance in hell. She's just pitying the girl because she wants her to do something to shut Delilah up. Even that perfect mask has it's cracks and Tommy apparently saw through them.
The room becomes somewhat tranquil with the exception of Delilah who radiates hostility from every pore. Of course that tranquillity is broken by the next arrival of the day. The doors open with a loud crash and all the screaming souls I heard before shut up as though cowed by the woman who entered the room.
Frankly they should be. Standing roughly 6 and a half feet tall in the doorway is what at first glance we all thought was a ferocious mutated bear. In reality we weren't far off the mark with that assessment.
Into the now dead silent room walks a girl that instantly puts everyone on edge. My hand instinctively reaches for my weapon as does Delilah and surprisingly Dahlia too. Though she appears to be uncertain of whether it will actually matter since while she has a hand on the knife at her hip she's even more poised to run away than she is to strike.
The woman to put us all on edge had the features of a bear. Metaphorically and physically. The round ears on the top of her head showed us that she was one of the bear-kin and while I can't see it from my angle I imagine she also has a fluffy tail behind her too.
Her face's features match her more beastly ones. With an expression like an apex predator eyeing up it's prey constantly on her face. She looks down on everyone in the room with a gaze so sharp it could pierce straight through you.
Her hair is a nice honey blond though a bit darker than normal. As is the fur for the ears on her head and the slightly bright hazel in her eyes is as close to that colour as you can get. It also matches the colour of the outfit she's wearing.
Which appears awfully similar to tribal garb from incredibly primitive regions of the universe. A loin cloth made of what appears to be fur the same colour as her own and a vest like garment on her upper half that has pelts of various different beasts and occasionally people sewn into it like trophies.
The sight is a little disturbing even for me and I've seen my fair share of battlefields. That wasn't the reason we all went for our weapons the moment we stepped in though. While her appearance is intimidating it's nothing compared to the instinctual fear that rises up from my gut the moment I laid eyes on her.
Even Delilah the ever energetic machine of hostility appears to sputter and die out before the overwhelming fear this woman instils in everyone around her. Emily is the only one who appears unaffected but if you look close enough you can also see her smile twitching a little and her hands are now hiding in her sleeves like a child.
Tommy didn't go for his weapon either just like Emily but he most certainly did the closest thing that would make sense. He took several steps in the opposite direction of that monster in human clothing and eyed her warily. He appeared confused by himself as a moment after taking a step back he takes a step forwards again.
Seeing him do so however causes a feral smile to break out on the monstrous woman's lips and she booms in a voice so guttural you'd think it came from the mouth of a beast itself. "You've got some spunk eh? Nicely done young man. Name's Marianne. Pleasure to be working with you." Yet despite her pitch and tone being incredibly intimidating her voice also appears soft and almost motherly as she looks at Tommy.
Tommy gives her a smile that isn't twitching and holds out his hand while introducing himself. "Apologies for the team's reaction. My name is Tommy and it is my utmost pleasure to meet you Marianne the honey bear's roar." His introduction takes a moment to sink in for me before I realize what he's talking about.
As soon as I do a massive bomb of 'what on planet Donavore is going on here' reverberates throughout my mind. She's the honey bear's roar? Why is she here? My mind fills with questions and shrieks before I come back to myself and realize Tommy's set us all up for introductions.
"My name is Amelie. It's a pleasure to meet you" Despite my inner turmoil the only sign of it is in my voice which shakes a little with my introduction. She probably noticed but doesn't care given by the smile on her face at this moment.
After me is apparently Emily as she steps forward with a kind smile already plastered back on her face. "Thank you for taking part in our operation. My name is Emily CEO of Frame Products Ltd. It's a pleasure." Unlike my introduction with my shaky voice. Emily apparently was perfectly capable of introducing herself properly. She even took her hands out of her sleeves for the greeting.
Marianne gave her another smile and I realize that the only person she actually greeted was Tommy. Perhaps she tested us when she entered and deemed Tommy worthy and the rest of us not so much. That or maybe she just doesn't want to scare us.
Despite her appearance and deeds on the battlefield I heard that the title honey bear's roar was earned by the fact that her appearance is incredibly intimidating but she actually has a heart of gold. Well not really. She still slaughters people for fun and takes pride in being the strongest person in any given galaxy. Meaning if you claim otherwise she'll have your head. But give her the respect she deserves and she's actually incredibly nice.
That and there's also her honey coloured hair that gained her the nickname. She's fairly famous for that actually as most bear-kin have black or brown hair but she went honey blond. I've also heard she was once a chief of her people but she put too much stock in personal power and paid no attention to politics so was kicked out.
Even though she won the tournament that made her chief they kicked her out because she was too focused on personal power. This is the problem with systems like that. Obviously they're going to be focused on personal power if you teach them that winning a fighting tournament is all it takes to be a clan chief.
Next to introduce herself to Marianne was DeDe. Delilah did all the talking of course but she wasn't as hostile this time as she was with everyone else. "Yo ya' seem famous or something seein' as the rest of the team knows you. You can call me Delilah or Del or whatever ya' want really. This is Dal or Dahlia pleasure to meet you."
The attitude change from Delilah was something to be witnessed. The moment she realized Marianne was the strongest in the room by far she was suddenly obsessed with earning her favour like an obsequious servant. I mean she didn't offer to lick her boots or anything but she came pretty close with how polite she was being.
I get the feeling she isn't scared of Marianne though. More like she wants to use her for something. Probably wants her to be the shield so if anything goes wrong Delilah doesn't get blamed or killed for it. Fair enough really.
Marianne still smiled at her but it seemed a little more feral than with the rest of us. She can probably tell what Delilah is trying to do. That or she just doesn't like being fawned over. Either way not the best first impression. Delilah seems to realize as much as she keeps her greetings short and to the point which gets a much more genuine smile from the honey bear.
This time with the arrival of someone like Marianne who suppresses all hostility just by existing the conversations turned amicable while we waited for the next guest. There still wasn't much we could talk about. Just speculations about the mission and such as well as a little about our personal histories.
From this inoffensive talk I learned a few things. Delilah has been a criminal her entire life as were her parents apparently and her partner in crime had nothing to do with crime before meeting her. Marianne appears totally uninterested in us and simply wants to complete the mission with the exception of Tommy whom she favours but not overly so.
Emily also appears somewhat uninterested in joining the conversations and likely considers herself an outsider in this matter. Tommy is frantically trying to gather information on everyone in the team and trying to figure out what Mainframe is up to. There's also the last seat which we have been speculating about for some time now.
"So the seat's for a beastkin. Think they're gonna be like the honey bear?" Asked Delilah seeming genuinely non-hostile for once.
"I do believe that's not the case Del. The honey bear's a rare kind of woman. I doubt there are many more like her and if this Mainframe character's methods are as efficient as Emily seems to believe then they are likely completely the opposite." Tommy replies sounding oddly serious about it. We're all huddled up with the exception of Marianne and Emily meaning that the biggest bombs are out of the question and we can actually speak our minds.
"If I had to guess our new guest will likely be a specialist in ship combat or an inside man." I speak up to add my own opinion to the discussion.
"Why'd you think that? If we're talking things we don't have then sure they fit the bill but like what about a hacker or an infiltration specialist. Especially given this IS an infiltration mission." Replies Delilah slowly regaining her hostility after Marianne took the wind out of her sails.
Her partner pipes up before I can rebut her opinion myself though. "Mainframe is or are likely a hacker themselves or perhaps multiple hackers given the scope of what they're trying to achieve and what they've managed with each of us. We also serve the role of an infiltration specialist rather well ourselves. Tommy can also serve the role of an inside man if he must as well."
Her explanation sparks a thought with me that I share with the group. "Yeah now that I think about it Tommy is probably the inside man. I don't know how their selection process works but presumably if they had an in with the company they wouldn't need us. So ship operator then? But where are they gonna find a pilot in this galaxy let alone this solar system?" I ask airing my suspicions for all to hear.
"Ain't it just as likely they don't use a pilot and do something similar. Like someone who's really good at piloting combat suits? Though they're kinda rare themselves 'round here." Muses Delilah sounding genuinely curious.
"If this Mainframe wanted a combat suit driver then I imagine Amelie would've sufficed. Combat suits would be a half-measure as is so they likely wouldn't bother getting an excellent pilot for it and would just settle for a good one." Posits Tommy sounding oddly confident about it.
"I dunno they seem pretty careful. Figure they'd get a good one just 'cause they co-" Delilah's retort is cut off by the wailing of the door as it opens and we all look over expectantly to see who our long awaited teammate might be.